Guards escorting ‘one in, one out’ migrants fell asleep on deportation flight, report reveals

A report into the removals revealed that guards escorting migrants back to France under a “one in, one out” scheme fell asleep during the deportation flight.

A report published Monday by the prisons inspectorate said immigrants deported to France could not understand what was happening because there were no interpreters.

The controversial “one in, one out” scheme, launched last August, sends small boat migrants back to France in exchange for other asylum seekers.

According to the latest figures, approximately 367 people came to the UK under the program and 305 people were sent back. Home Affairs Minister Shabana Mahmood said the government “clearly wants to see many more people deported” under the programme. He said the pilot program had “proven the concept” but that issues such as France’s capacity to take in large numbers of people and the amount of detention space in the UK had limited its expansion.

Investigators monitored a transport flight from Stansted airport to Paris with 20 male detainees, 58 escorts and two paramedics on board. They said most of the detainees were aware that they were being deported to France, but did not understand what would happen to them when they arrived.

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The report said escort staff’s treatment of detainees was “mostly good” and that staff were “polite, friendly and respectful”. However, they noticed that staff sometimes gave long speeches to the immigrants’ minds and swore in front of detainees. Another example of unprofessional behavior is when both escort staff assigned to the detainee are asleep at the same time.

The report found that “almost no information” was available about what would happen to the men in France, with some telling investigators they were worried about their future, while others told them they had no contacts in France.

Migrants sent back to France under the agreement will have the right to three-day emergency accommodation. They may then be referred to centers for refugees or left destitute.

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Showing how little material possessions the men had, the report documented two detainees being picked up from Harmondsworth detention center in Middlesex while wearing flip-flops. Inspectors noted that “staff did not offer alternative footwear.”

Investigators noted that the detainees spoke many different languages ​​and that there was only one translator who spoke Arabic and French and “almost none” of these languages.

Force was also used on a man at Brook House immigration detention centre, near Gatwick, after he said he would not comply with his deportation. Investigators said force was used only as a last resort, and although a waist belt was used, it was removed when it was safe to do so.

Records show force was used against incoming and outgoing migrants eight times, five of which occurred on one of the first flights under the program.